The present invention relates generally to the field of electrical enclosures. More particularly the invention relates to mechanisms for latching electrical enclosures in a closed position to house power electronic and other electrical circuit components within a controlled volume.
A wide range of applications exist for electrical enclosures of all types. Such enclosures are used heavily in industry, but also in mobile applications, offshore applications, consumer and commercial applications, and so forth. In general, electrical enclosures typically include a shell or box made of a heavy gage sheet metal. The enclosures are configured to support electrical circuitry and electrical components therein, and to receive and send electrical power and data signals. The internal components of the enclosure are accessible through doors, hatches and other openings. An important feature in such enclosures is that the doors can be readily opened, but closed and latched securely to prevent intrusion or tinkering with the components in an unauthorized manner.
A range of mechanical latch mechanisms have been developed for electrical enclosures. These often include various types of handles, some of which may be locked into position, or that may permit physical lock-out by means of a pad lock or other security device. One type of latching device makes use of a bayonet-type pin arrangement that offers advantages over more traditional latches. For example, such arrangements have been made that permit venting of gasses from the enclosure in the event of an electrical fault.
A drawback in the development of electrical enclosures has been the variety in the designs of the latching mechanisms. In general, the door, and particularly the internal structures of the enclosures may require completely different designs to accommodate the type of latch selected by a user. Little or no cross-over of these designs has taken place in the field. Accordingly, the entire enclosure assembly is most often selected from the outset, with little or no ability to adapt the enclosure for different latch types where desired. For manufacturers, then, such variety leads to additional costs in manufacturing, stocking and assembling different enclosure structures to accommodate the different latches.
There is a need, therefore, for a more universal system for latching electrical enclosures. There is, in particular, a need for a system that will accommodate various commercially available latch-types, and permit the use of these latch types in a cost-effective universal enclosure design.